CULTURE
Remembering Sonia Rykiel’s Bold, Eccentric Personal Style
Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
With her signature flame red hair and comfortable yet bold ensembles, Sonia Rykiel was always the best advertisement for her eponymous brand. In honor of the late fashion designer, who passed away this morning at age 86 after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease, here is an homage to her original aesthetic and love of layers and layers of fur.
1Polka-dotted at the Best Awards Gala at the Rainbow Room in New York, 1981.
2At Paris Fashion Week in 1984.
3Piling on the tassels at the Plaza Hotel in New York, 1988.
4Piling on the accessories at a party against AIDS in Paris, 1989.
5Trying out cheetah with actress Bernadette Lafont at the premiere of the play “Mortadela” in 1992.
6Matching her daughter Nathalie at the Paris couture shows, 1991.
7Taking cover in her favorite material at a Cartier Foundation party in Paris, 1992.
8Backstage with her best accessory, Yves Saint Laurent, at his spring 1993 show at Paris Fashion Week.
9Blending in with her background at the opening of “Sonia Rykiel: 25 Years of Creation” in Paris, 1993.
10Covered head to toe to back in fur to be honored at the Fashion Group International Night of Stars at Cipriani, 2001.
11Testing out color with Hermès’ Jean Louis Dumas to celebrate Jean Paul Gaultier’s Legion of Honor in Paris, 2001.
12With her daughter Nathalie at the Fashion Group International Awards in 2001.
13Becoming one with the fur at her store opening in London in 2002.
14Adding a furry addition to her own mane at a premiere in Paris, 2002.
15In platforms with her daughter Nathalie at her spring 2007 show at Paris Fashion Week.
16Adding some color with a male model at her spring 2007 show at Paris Fashion Week.
17Making her rounds at the 2009 Jean Paul Gaultier couture show in Paris, 2009.
18Staying warm at her fall 2011 show at Paris Fashion Week.
19And staying cool at her spring 2011 show at Paris Fashion Week.
